Two FGS Awards Given at Southern California Genealogical Societies' Annual Jamboree

Paula Johnson Hinkel and J. Paul Hawthorne (Photo Credit: Mike Provard)

The Federation of Genealogical Societies presents awards throughout each year to volunteers and organizations. On June 3, 2016, FGS presented two awards during the Southern California Genealogical Society’s Annual Jamboree in Burbank.

Paula Johnson Hinkel 

Paula Johnson Hinkel was presented with a Distinguished Service Award. The Southern California Genealogical Society (SCGS) nominated her for this award for a multitude of reasons. She has been instrumental in increasing the visibility of the society and in easing it into the 21st century, enabling it to continue to fulfill its mission of fostering interest in family history, preserving genealogical materials and providing instruction in accepted and effective research techniques.  

Among her many accomplishments at SCGS, Paula has volunteered as President and 2nd Vice-President of the society, as a member of the Long-Range Planning Committee, as champion of the 1890 Project, and as co-chair for the Annual Southern California Genealogy Jamboree from 2005-2014. Together with her co-chair Leo Myers, she grew Jamboree from a small, local event into one of the most respected and well-attended genealogical conferences. From concept to marketing design and product development, Paula was instrumental in the successful evolution of Jamboree. Paula was also the first to identify and market the use of an App for genealogical conferences. She also expanded the society outreach by making Jamboree available to researchers who could not attend. Her launch of live-streaming Jamboree sessions allowed members of the genealogical community to participate from all over the world.

In 2011, Paula pioneered the launch of the Jamboree Extension Webinar Series. This was the first time a genealogical society had offered regularly scheduled live webinars. This program is one of the most celebrated programs of SCGS, and has helped extend the awareness of the society and promote genealogical education around the world. Paula has utilized her marketing skills through the redesign of the SCGS website, the development of the Jamboree website, and the design of both the SCGS and Jamboree blogs. She was also one of the early champions of social media creating a presence on Facebook and Twitter for both SCGS as Jamboree.

J. Paul Hawthorne

In a few short days at the end of March 2016 the world of genealogy exploded in many shades of color. While genealogy is a world of many shades of color, this specific explosion resulted in the colors of our ancestral migration patterns.

J. Paul Hawthorne, Historian and FGS Delegate for the San Diego Genealogical Society, posted this hashtag on Facebook and Twitter:

#MyColorfulAncestry 

Then he showed what that meant! As he stated on Facebook, “A little visual I created in Excel. 5 Generation chart of my direct ancestors birth state -- starting with me. A good way to visualize migration patterns. He used other Twitter hashtags, too: #genealogy and  #GoofingOffAtWork.”

Goofing off? This meme is still going strong on Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and other media around the world! Variations of the meme arose. People from across the U.S, Canada, Australia, and other countries participated and posted their charts on social media. They asked questions of one another. They learned about research in specific places from others whose colorful charts showed ancestry in those same places. For spearheading this colorful worldwide sharing of genealogy, the Federation of Genealogical Societies presented J. Paul Hawthorne with the Technology Advances Award.

Please consider nominating a deserving person, organization, or project for an FGS award at http://fgs.org/cpage.php?pt=56.

Awards are presented at various times during each year, but if you are interested in a nomination for an award to be presented at the FGS 2016 National Conference, the deadline is 15 July 2016, which will be held August 31 — September 3, in Springfield, Illinois. Join fellow genealogists and family historians at "Time Travel: Centuries of Memories," designed to inspire you and enrich your family history! Register today at FGSConference.org.

Paula Stuart-Warren

FGS Awards Committee Chair

Extreme Genealogy (Or Why You Should Belong To At Least One Genealogy Society)

Genealogical Societies can take your research to extreme heights.

I tend to do things to the extreme. Just ask my friends. I never cook just a small dinner when having guests over because I might not have enough side dishes and desserts to go around. So it ends up looking like a buffet restaurant.

I don’t put new flooring in just one room (or one room at a time). Oh no. I have to do the whole house -- all at once. So it’s really no surprise at all that I belong to six genealogy societies, and I will probably join more. I'm extreme like that.

You’re probably wondering why I belong to even one, much less six, genealogical societies. Once upon a time I was like you. Overworked and underpaid, I had no time for what I thought of as socializing at the local genealogical society. Besides, I thought those folks were probably all old fogies who sat around talking about their aches and pains and boring everybody with stories about their family. They weren’t talking about my family so what good were they to me?

Then I needed a record from my grandmother’s place of birth from a burned county, which meant – at the time – I would need to write away for the birth certificate, which I did only to find that the courthouse with all the records burned down 80 years ago. What to do? “Well,” I thought to myself, “Maybe there was a birth announcement in the newspaper.” But my problem was that I was in California and the newspaper that may have contained the birth announcement was in a little bitty town in Nebraska. And I didn’t belong to any “network of genealogists.” 

Then I had a brilliant idea. Maybe the local genealogical society would do a look up for me. And that’s what got me hooked. (By the way, many newspapers are still not digitized. So this is a problem for family history researchers today that many genealogical societies can still help you out with.)

I don’t know if you know this or not, but many genealogical societies have someone in their membership who is in charge of doing (or doling out) look-up requests. This is just one of the many benefits of a society. I also found that by belonging to the societies, I get their newsletter, which sometimes is more like a magazine filled with things like pedigrees, stories about historical events and people, local culture, and more. Once, I actually stumbled upon a story written by a cousin about my family!

Since I have no family in the area I live in, my local society was the last one I joined. “After all,” I thought, “they weren’t going to help me find my ancestors.” But I soon found out how wrong I was. Not only have I learned better research techniques, have gained valuable hints and tips, and have been guided by those who have searched before me, but I have actually found books about my research area on sale at their annual book sale.

In addition, I have attended many “how to” technology classes like, “How To Use Evernote to Aid Your Research” and “Database Programs To Help Organize Your Research.” You know, all that techie stuff I can’t figure out why I need it, but everyone keeps telling me I do.

Did I say I belonged to six societies? Let me correct that. I belong to seven. How could I have forgotten the Southern California Genealogical Society?

California, right? They probably have nothing to help me with researching my Louisiana roots, right?

Well, that's what I thought too. But I was wrong again. SCGS has one of the best libraries on Cajun research, and as a member I can research there to my heart’s content, or ask a fellow society member to do a look-up for me when I can’t get there myself.

There are many reasons for joining a genealogy society, but October being Family History Month seems like a perfect time to try one or two out. Search the FGS Society Hall to find them, and you may discover they take your research to whole new heights -- extreme heights. And you’ll probably make a bunch of new friends who understand your obsession with dead people too. Like I did.

Kim von Aspern-Parker

Jamboree: Special Offers for Societies

Attention Organization and Society Leaders,

We Want You!  The Southern California Genealogy Jamboree offers many opportunities to participate in one of North America's largest genealogical conferences at little or no cost.

I can hear you asking, "Why would a genealogical society from [insert your location] be interested in having a presence at the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree?" Because in California, "everybody came from someplace else." That's not exactly true, of course, but native Californians proudly announce that they are "Nth generation Californian." You just don't hear that from people from Pennsylvania or Iowa.

What does that mean for you? It means that California genealogists are searching elsewhere for their family. They're looking for answers that your society can provide.    

How can your Society participate in Jamboree in person?

• Encourage your members to attend. Your members can return to your society meeting and share the valuable information they get during the informative sessions as well as networking with other attendees.  We would be very grateful if you would help promote Jamboree in your announcements, publications and Internet presence (website, blog or other).
• Attend the JamboFREE - Society Leadership Workshop. Strengthen the leadership of your organization by learning techniques and skills. You don't need to be a society leader to attend these sessions. But don't miss this chance to breathe new energy into your society. Read more about it.
• Organize a Group Trip to Jamboree -  Have you thought about putting together a bus trip or group activity for your organization's members?  We'll work with you to help organize the trip. If your society is at least 100 miles from Burbank, we'll give you one free basic registration for every 10 people in your group. The San Diego Genealogical Society has organized such an event for the past few years. They take the Coastliner train to and from San Diego and they have a great time. If you're interested in putting together a group, contact us at SCGSJamboree@gmail.com and we'll help. Put "Group Tour" in the subject line.
• Staff a free exhibit table for one day. We are offering a one-day exhibit table to genealogical societies, historical societies, and other nonprofit organizations. Speak one-on-one with our ~1700 guests and spread your word. Free. If you're interested, send an email to leo.myers44@gmail.com and he'll help you out.

How can your Society participate in Jamboree from a distance?

• Donate a one-year membership for a door prize.  Your society's name will be listed among our donors and people will learn about you.
• Send your membership application, publication list or other material for FREE distribution.  We'll put it on our freebie table for our guests to find. Send them by June 1 to: Jamboree Freebie Table, SCGS, 417 Irving Drive, Burbank, CA 91504.
• Purchase an ad in the syllabus and/or mobile app. A business-card sized ad is just $25. You can purchase an electronic "green" listing on the Jamboree app for just $50. The "green" listing is your contact information, downloadable PDFs such as your membership application, and your logo.If you order both print and digital ads, you'll save $5. You'll reach 1700 people onsite at Jamboree plus others who access the app online.

Please join us at Jamboree!